In the field of electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), there are many possible powertrains configurations that may affect a wide variety of operating modes. For example, in the field of HEVs alone, HEV powertrains may be constructed to affect series, parallel, series-parallel and all-electric modes of operation. In addition, certain of these modes may be constructed to operate according to different policies,—e.g., charge-sustaining, charge-depletion and the like.
These different modes and policies offer certain advantages—e.g., range extension, fuel efficiency, operation of the internal combustion engine (ICE) on its ideal-operating line (IOL) and all electric operation. It would be desirable to have a single powertrain that may affect a plurality of these control policies and operating modes—for example, during possibly different drive conditions and under possibly with different policies, according to a desired drive characteristic metric, such as fuel efficiency, range extension, maximum distance on electric energy, efficient battery usage or the like.